


Five Times Hollis Mann Wasn't Gibbs's Type...And One Time She Was

by heartofawriter



Category: NCIS
Genre: Diane's alive, Ex-File, F/M, I deserved best friends Ziva and Kate, Jenny's alive, Kate's alive, Kill Chain, Sandblast, Sharif Returns, Skeletons, They all deserved better, We Build We Fight, five times/one time fic, tags to several episodes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-07 01:59:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17356796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartofawriter/pseuds/heartofawriter
Summary: Five times someone in Gibbs's life pointed out that Hollis Mann isn't his type. And one time he put that statement to rest.





	1. Kate and Ziva

**Author's Note:**

> I love Kate Todd, Jenny Shepard, and Diane Sterling, so even though a) Kate died long before Hollis showed up and b) parts of this fic are set during periods in which both Kate and Jenny and then Kate, Jenny, AND Diane are dead, I am ignoring their deaths for the simple fact that I love them and I want to. So, there's that. Anyway, please enjoy the five times Hollis Mann wasn't Gibbs's type...and one time she was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tag to season 4, episode 7 Sandblast

It was quiet in the bullpen as Kate glanced up to sneak a peek at her coworkers. Or rather, the one coworker still in the vicinity. Ziva was working quietly at her desk, typing away as she no doubt attempted to find something that would make Gibbs happy whenever he returned from...wherever he’d gone with the blond Army colonel they were sharing the investigation with.

 

Tony’d disappeared to God knows where, and McGee was likely downstairs helping Abby, so Kate took a chance and set her pen down.

 

“Ziva.” she spoke loud enough for the other woman to hear her but not enough that anyone nearby would. The Israeli woman looked up, tilting her head curiously at her coworker.

 

“Yes, Kate?” she questioned.

 

“What do you think of Colonel Mann?” the brunette jumped straight to the point, folding her arms on top of her desk. Ziva’s dark brows furrowed as she considered the question.

 

“I think she is very capable. She works very hard and does not make excuses for mistakes nor does she accept them. She is very much like Gibbs, I believe.” she finally answered. “Why?”

 

The question wasn’t necessarily _odd_ , but it sounded more like something Tony would’ve asked. Though Ziva herself had been thinking about the blonde and the way she and Gibbs acted around each other for awhile.

 

“I just...it’s weird. Gibbs is different around her. He’s almost... _nice_ to her. He’s never _nice_ to anyone when we have joint investigations, not even Fornell. And they’re loosely defined as _friends_.” Kate answered, sounding genuinely confused.

 

“Perhaps he has a…” the Israeli frowned, doing her best to ensure she got the American colloquialism right. “A thing for her?” Kate made a bit of a face before chuckling a little.

 

“I don’t know. I mean, I know we joked at the crime scene that he’d found his fourth ex-wife, but…”

 

“But _what_ , Kate?” The gruff voice nearly made the two agents jump, both their heads snapping to the side so their gazes could land on their boss, who was thankfully alone. Or not thankfully. They truly weren’t sure whether it would be better or worse if the colonel had been with him.

 

“I, um, we were just…” the brunette stammered, her face turning red. Gibbs glared darkly at them, even Ziva nearly cowering under the intensity of his gaze.

 

“We were just discussing your strange behavior around Lieutenant Colonel Mann.” Ziva finally answered, deciding there was no point in trying to lie. Kate groaned, dropping her head on top of her folded arms.

 

“What the hell are you talkin’ about?” Gibbs barked.

 

“You’re nice to her.” Kate replied bluntly, her voice muffled by the fact that her head remained on top of her arms to avoid seeing her boss’s expression.

 

“So I merely...suggested you might have a crush on her.” Ziva added, quickly dipping her head to begin writing in a file, a wise decision considering the scowl that colored Gibbs’s face.

 

“I do not have a _crush_ .” he snapped. “Don’t get _crushes_.”

 

“Okay.” Both women accepted quickly, Kate finally venturing to lift her head. Gibbs continued to glare at them as he made his way to his desk, setting his coffee down much harder than necessary and sitting down.

 

“She’s not really your type anyway.” The words were quiet, likely not intended for anyone to hear, but both Gibbs and Ziva heard anyway, the latter’s eyes widening as she lifted her head to see how their boss would react.

 

“ _What_?”

 

“I just mean…” Kate laughed nervously, as she tended to do in these situations. “She’s blonde.” Gibbs raised an eyebrow at her, still glaring.

 

“She has a point, Gibbs.” Ziva piped up to help her friend out. “Every woman you have dated since we have known you has been a redhead. And as far as we know, all of your ex-wives have been redheads.” Gibbs’s scowl deepened, and despite the situation, both women began to fight a laugh at how _obvious_ he was being.

 

“Don’t have a _type_ .” he grunted. “Doesn’t matter if I did anyway cause I _don’t_ have a crush on ‘er.”

 

“Who’s got a crush?” Kate had to try _very_ hard not to laugh at the consternation on Gibbs’s face as soon as Hollis Mann’s voice floated across the bullpen.

 

“ _Nobody_.” he growled, downing the last of his coffee and tossing the cup in the trash. He stood, storming out of the area and to the elevator, leaving a slightly bewildered, slightly amused Army Lieutenant Colonel behind.

 

“What was that all about?” she questioned, looking between the two younger women in the room.

 

“Oh nothing.” Kate smiled, ducking her head to continue her work.

 

Hollis Mann may not be Gibbs’s type...but he most _definitely_ had a crush.


	2. Abby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tag to season 4, episode 13 Sharif Returns

Their second case involving Mamoun Sharif was a stressful one for everyone involved. But one of the few things that offered endless entertainment for Abby Sciuto was the change she saw in her favorite agent, one Leroy Jethro Gibbs, whenever he entered her lab with Lieutenant Colonel Hollis Mann at his side.

 

She had noticed small changes during the first case the colonel had worked with them, little things that anyone who didn’t know Gibbs well wouldn’t have noticed. He wasn’t as harsh with her as he would’ve been with other people. He respected her thoughts and opinions more openly rather than hiding his approval. It was a little weird, or at least Kate and Ziva thought so, but Abby found it amusing to see el jefe so obviously crushing.

 

It had been a few hours since the two had last been in her office, the last time having provided herself and McGee with a front row seat to their normally brooding, closed off boss offering the blonde a piece of gum. Now, however, it was just herself with them, and while the colonel had stepped around to get a closer look at the large monitor, Gibbs remained at Abby’s side, offering the forensic scientist the perfect opportunity to speak to him without the other woman hearing.

 

_ So, what’s the story there? _ She signed to her boss with a grin as she continued to list off what she had found about the case. Gibbs glanced at her with a confused look, or as confused as the man would ever look anyway.

 

_ What? _ He replied.

 

_ With the colonel. _ Abby clarified, nearly faltering in her explanations to laugh out loud at the scowl that immediately spread across Gibbs’s face.  _ What’s the story? _

 

_ There  _ **_is_ ** _ no story. _ Was his quick, stubborn reply, his hands dropping as Hollis looked over her shoulder at them to ask a question. Abby began to answer, her hands beginning to move as soon as the blonde’s attention was back on the monitor.

 

_ Oh there is  _ **_so_ ** _ a story. _ The glare Gibbs threw her way barely even fazed her, knowing he wasn’t really angry, more he was embarrassed at being so obvious and refusing to admit as such.  _ You’ve been flirting with her all day. _

 

_ There’s not a story, and I don’t  _ **_flirt_ ** _. Drop it, Abs. _

 

The goth laughed quietly to herself, typing on her keyboard to bring up another image of results she had gotten from the many different tests she’d spent the last few hours running for the team.

 

_ Okay, okay. She doesn’t seem like your type anyway. _ The expression his face twisted into was almost comical, and Abby almost decided to take a picture to send to her coworkers before deciding against it.

 

_ What does that even  _ **_mean_ ** _?! _

 

It was, of course, a running joke between the members of the team that Gibbs was absolutely clueless about anything to do with technology and modern slang, but the fact that he had to ask what having a type meant was one of the funniest things in the world to the young woman.

 

_ It means you tend to go for redheads, el jefe. The colonel’s blonde. So, she’s not your type. _ She explained with the biggest grin on her face as she answered another one of said blonde’s questions about the evidence.

 

_ I don’t have a type. _ Abby rolled her eyes, again almost laughing out loud at her boss’s words. Maybe he  _ didn’t _ realize how obvious his attraction to Hollis Mann was, and if that were true, the whole situation was just even funnier.

 

_ Whatever you say, bossman. _ She signed just as she finished up relaying everything she’d found and the colonel rejoined them on that side of the equipment. Moments later, and the goth was watching the two walk out of her lab on their way to the elevator, leaving her to laugh to herself.

 

“So,” the blonde began as she pressed the button to call for the elevator. “Did you two have a nice talk about me?” Gibbs glanced over at her, taking in her raised eyebrow and small smirk of amusement.

 

“Don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.” he finally grunted. “Didn’t say a word.”

 

“Oh I know you didn’t  _ say _ anything, you hardly ever do.” she granted. “And Abby was all talk about the case, but you two aren’t as sneaky with your signing as you think you are.”

 

“Who says we were talkin’ about you?” It was amusing to see a man who was usually so cool and collected evade a question the way he was.

 

“Well the fact that you both dropped your hands as though they were on fire as soon as I turned around is a pretty big clue.” she teased. He glanced at her again but remained silent, and she smirked, stepping into the elevator once it arrived.

 

She was  _ really _ ready to catch Sharif.


	3. Tony and McGee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tag to season 4, episode 17 Skeletons

Very Special Agent Anthony Dinozzo was bored.

 

It wasn't an uncommon occurrence, particularly when he was at work, but the fact remained that he was bored. Gibbs had gone to check out a lead with Colonel Mann, not that he would ever dare use Gibbs as a target anyway, and Kate and Ziva were checking out one they had found together, which left only McGee as a target for the senior field agent to cure his boredom. So, balling up a spare piece of paper, he tossed it at the other agent’s head.

 

“Tony,” McGee groaned in aggravation. “Stop it.”

 

“Can’t do that, McGeek.” Tony denied immediately. “I’m  _ bored _ .”

 

“Then maybe you should actually do some work.” That statement only earned the younger man another ball of paper to the face.

 

“Or  _ maybe _ we should talk about the bossman and what’s going on with him and  _ Hollis Mann _ .” the Italian grinned gleefully, almost like a child.

 

“Tony, no.” McGee shook his head, looking up at his coworker. “If he comes back and hears us talking about that, there’s no telling what he’d do to us.”

 

“Come on, McChicken, he’s gonna be gone for ages. Don’t you find it  _ interesting _ that he’s so weird around her?” McGee looked around, almost as though he were afraid Gibbs would magically appear and headslap them.

 

“Well yeah.” he admitted. “Do  _ you _ think they started something last time?”

 

“Come on, McClueless.” Tony half scoffed, half laughed. “There’s no way.”

 

“What? Why not?”

 

“She’s not a redhead.” the senior agent replied in a tone that told McGee he was being stupid.

 

“What’s that got to do with it? I know he likes redheads, but he could like blondes too.” McGee argued, abandoning his attempts to find more information about Len Grady.

 

“Not a chance, Probie.” Tony denied, tossing a pen at him and grinning when it bounced off the side of the man’s head. “She’s not his type.”

 

“People change, Tony.” McGee said for the second time that day, sighing. “Maybe he decided he wanted to try something different.”

 

“Something different being Colonel Mann?” Tony nearly snorted, spinning slightly in his chair and nearly falling out of it when he saw the subjects of their conversation staring back at him from the entrance to the bullpen.

 

“Oh, uh, boss, C-Colonel Mann…” McGee stammered, his face going red as he struggled to think of something,  _ anything _ , to make this situation better.

 

“What the hell are you two doin’?” Gibbs barked, his trademark glare in full force.

 

“Uh, we were just, uh…” Tony laughed a little. “It’s a funny thing, really, we were just-”

 

“Talking about us behind our backs?” Hollis raised an eyebrow, glancing between the two younger men and getting a feeling of deja vu from the last time she’d worked a case with the team and said those exact words.

 

“We meant no disrespect.” McGee was quick to say.

 

“I’m sure.” the blonde dipped her head in acknowledgement, though her tone held the slightest bit of sarcasm.

 

“That is the  _ third _ time I’ve heard those words.” Gibbs muttered as he walked to his desk, smacking Tony in the back of the head on his way.

 

“Heard what words? That we meant no disrespect?” the Italian winced, rubbing the back of his head and half glaring at the amused colonel still standing in the entrance of the bullpen.

 

“No.” his boss grunted as he typed something on his computer before looking up. “That she’s...not my type, whatever that means.”

 

“See, McGee!” Tony shouted triumphantly, pointing at the man with a grin. “Other people agree!” Tim’s only response was to roll his eyes.

 

“Who else claims I’m not your type?” Hollis questioned. She wasn’t necessarily offended by the statement, merely curious. It wasn’t uncommon to meet someone you were attracted to who wasn’t generally characterized as “your type”.

 

“Kate, Ziva, and Abby.”

 

“Ah, so  _ that’s _ what you two were talking about that day.” she hummed, recalling the sign language conversation she’d witnessed between the man and Abby during their second case involving Mamoun Sharif. Gibbs just grunted once more, apparently refusing to speak any more on the matter.

 

“Well, Jethro.” she prompted after a few moments of nothing but the sounds of the man’s keyboard clicks and the elevator dinging filling the area. “What do  _ you _ think?” He glanced up at her before back at his computer.

 

“About what?” he asked, steadfastly refusing to admit he knew exactly what she was talking about and almost hoping she’d just let it go.

 

“Do you think I’m your type?” Just his luck that she would push and all while Tony and McGee were badly pretending they weren’t listening to every word.

 

“Don’t have a type.” he grunted stubbornly. Hollis rolled her eyes, though the corner of her lips turned up slightly.

 

“Sure you don’t.” she humored him, stepping over and picking up the clicker they used for the monitor.

 

And if she felt his eyes on her as she began to speak, she didn’t comment on it.


End file.
